Pricing the whole hog

“When you buy whole animals, you can’t help but think of every part of them as being equal. If I pay $4.75 a pound for a pig, it is $4.75 for fat, $4.75 for shoulder, and $4.75 for loin. I don’t throw away the loin and I don’t throw away the fat. We always look for ways to use a little animal fat here and there to make it economical to buy expensive animals.

When you have pigs, you have lard. Somehow lard has a bad rep. (Maybe the phrase “lard ass” is partly to blame?) What I like about it is that a little goes a long way to add depth to a dish. It works very well for sautéing vegetables over high heat that are going in a braise and it’s great for browning meat.”

Excerpted from: Russell Moore’s “This Is Camino”, a book I strongly encourage you to rush out and buy. Right now. I’m re-reading it again, as I love his touches with food, the tweaks he makes and the total adherence to a “no waste, circular restaurant economy”. Highly recommended. And it’ll arrive in plenty of time for the holiday period as well if you click this link.

About Salute The Pig

Charcuterie, smoking, curing, brining and all things porcine. Brought to you from deepest, darkest Cambs, England by Chris Bulow. In the smoker or in the kitchen....Salutate porcum!